The Aging Crisis: Education options

Tuesday

Jun 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 25, 2013 at 11:57 AM

County leaders say education often factors into a family’s decision when moving to a new location.

“Young professionals tend to settle in communities based on their lifestyle,” said Debbie Clary, a former state senator and leader of the new local charter school Pinnacle Classical Academy. “One of those lifestyle elements at the top of their list is educational choices for their children.”

The options are growing for families in Cleveland County.

Cleveland County Schools operates 29 schools in its public system.

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Rutherford County draws many students from Cleveland County.

And Pinnacle, the newest option, will open this August.

A new program, the Cleveland County Promise, targets free college education for all Cleveland County high school graduates, with plans to pay for the Class of 2013 to attend school this fall.

In El Dorado, Ark., where a similar Promise program was previously launched, subdivisions were built and home sales increased by 4.3 percent because of the incentive that high school graduates could get a free college education, said Willie Green, who is leading the local Promise effort.

“Families relocated from 33 different states and 13 foreign countries to El Dorado because of the Promise program,” Green said.

The Cleveland County Promise group hopes to raise $2 million by August to send this year’s graduating high school class to college for free.

“We have a serious problem where we are lacking people in the 25 to 44 age range,” Green said. “People leave because there are no jobs. We are hoping the Promise will encourage those young and middle-aged people to move here from surrounding areas.”

With a growing number of education options in Cleveland County, what does each offer to attract students and their families?

Cleveland County Schools:

Some companies looking to locate in Cleveland County meet with Superintendent Bruce Boyles.

Boyles tells about vocational programs, the schools’ use of technology and senior scholarship programs that would be of interest to a company’s employees and their families.

Cleveland County Schools has 29 schools, including elementary, intermediate, middle school and high schools.

“We have good schools,” Boyles said. “That’s why I came back to the county after 30 years.”

What sets the county schools apart?

-Robotics and other science and math initiatives

-Dropout rate cut in half in recent years due to programs targeting at-risk students

-Vocational Programs

-Programs for children with special needs and academically gifted students

Pinnacle Classical Academy:

When people move into towns, they are looking for options in education, said Clary.